Resources that Teach Kids to Code

editor September 23, 2015SponsorsComments Off on Resources that Teach Kids to Code786 Views

Your child’s school may not yet have coding classes, but you have plenty of options as a parent to help your child learn to code. Clubs, nonprofit organizations, tutors, online courses, and coding websites with active communities, and coding apps designed for kids are some of the resources you can take advantage of to help your child master coding. Here are some sites recommended by MommyPoppins.com and appendTo.com to get your child coding. Note that not all of these resources are free.

Code.org – This organization is working to get schools to offer an hour of coding into schools nationwide. Another goal of the organization is to train teachers how to teach coding.

Scratch – If your child is between 8 and 16 and wants an introduction to coding, Scratch is where it’s at. Kids use blocks to construct virtual environments. Site users exchange ideas to get better at coding. Since the blocks are not visually represented as lines of codes, they ease kids into coding. TechRepublic wrote an article about Advantage Learning Cooperate & Kids 4 Coding, which is a business that offers classes in Scratch in Atlanta, so its use to teach kids to code is growing.

Stencyl – Stencyl uses blocks to teach coding like Scratch. Users on the site learn to code by creating games for various operating systems, such as Mac, Flash, iOS, Linux, and Android.

Khan Academy – Khan offers free tutorial videos that teach older kids how to code. Kids can search for a tutorial on a specific aspect of coding and teach themselves at a rate with which they’re comfortable.

CodeAcademy – CodeAcademy offers easy and fun activities that teach kids to code. They don’t have to learn how to code by memorizing lines of code because they master the elements of coding in a fun environment.

Hackety Hack – This site offers instruction in Ruby, which is an open-source programming language. Your child can start learning how to code through the site’s engaging and kid-friendly activities.

Code Monster – When kids put code into a box on this site, the site demonstrates the function. Kids learn what each command does through a prompt that guides them.

Apps – Kodable, Hopscotch, and Daisy the Dinosaur are available for iPad. LightBot is another app that is available for Android. Check out CommonsenseMedia.org’s review of sites and apps that teach coding as well for more options.